Capping off a strong, well-earned showcase at Soundset in May and another packed birthday bash at First Ave in January, scrawny and wiry Minneapolis rapper Sean Anonymous will now settle in for two nights Friday and Saturday at 7th Street Entry with a slew of guests to promote his similarly expansive and name-filled new album, "Better Days."
The record was made entirely with producer/beatmaker Dimitry Killstorm and enjoys a cohesive blend of old-school beats and urgent, mercurial instrumentation throughout. At 28, the real-life Sean Quinn gets personal like never before, whether it's exploring his identity in "What Is Your Name?" with guests Del the Funky Homosapien and Haphduzn or recounting his parents' split in "Pack Your Bags." He also just plain rocks the mic like never before. The already viral first single, "Big Bang," with Lizzo and P.O.S for guests, shows his fast needle-threading wordsmith skills of the Eyedea variety.
Guests for Sean's parties include Manchita, Eric Mayson's Detail, Big Zach and MaLLy on Friday and Haphduzn, Klassik, Finding Novyon, Mike the Martyr and Muja Messiah on Saturday (9 p.m., $10-$13 each night). … Speaking of Finding Novyon, the young wiz-banger from the quartet the Rotation just dropped a wild new single online featuring Allan Kingdom. It's from a mixtape he's releasing in a month or two, humorously (and perhaps problematically) titled "#TheFoodNetwork." …
Local folk troubadour Ben Weaver is promoting the digital release of his stunning 2014 album, "I Would Rather Be a Buffalo," as only he can, with a 1,300-mile bike tour around Lake Superior that's doubling as a promotion for Great Lakes Commons' environmental efforts. His trek circles back into Minnesota next week with performances in Grand Marais (July 24), Split Rock Lighthouse State Park (July 25) and Duluth (July 26). Details at www.benweaver.net. …
Grumpy's in northeast Minneapolis hosts its 17th annual Northeast Folk Festival on Saturday from 11 a.m.-11 p.m., bookended by opener Charlie Parr and closers Paul Metsa and Sonny Earl and featuring the Liquor Pigs, Roe Family Singers, Brass Kings, Calamity Jean, Gabe Barnett, a couple of Rich Mattson's bands and many more in between on two stages. … The hardest-working singer/songwriter in town, Dan Israel (who also plays the Grumpy's fest), is hosting his own free folk festival at Veterans Memorial Amphitheater in his native St. Louis Park on Friday from 6-9 p.m. with pals including Katy Vernon, Scott Wooldridge, Mayda and Jim Walsh. …
After pulling off his Song-a-Day project throughout the course of 2011, Terry Eason clearly has no shortage of songs coming to him. The wizardly songwriter and guitarist is issuing a strong batch of 10 of them — from the lush, Robyn Hitchcock-sounding "Tiger Swallowtail" to the Westerberg-esque pop-rocker "What I Really Meant to Say" — under the title "Terminal Leave," which his trio will tout Thursday at the Kitty Cat Klub with Van Stee and Little Man (9 p.m., $7).
chrisr@startribune.com • 612-673-4658
